If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Brass

Greetings, all -- I'm new to the forum, and have not yet purchased GPO, though the more I read about the concepts and features of GPO the closer I am to wanting it, even if it doesn't have all of the instrumentation I really need.

Which brings me to the topic -- Brass. I'm working on some arrangements for Brass] Band (in the British tradition), and have been hunting for good instrument sounds. The challenge is with the instruments that are common in the Brass Band genre that aren't so common in Orchestral music -- Euphonium, Baritone and Tenor horns, Flugel, Cornet. Most of the workarounds I've seen done use french horns for the baritone and tenor, and sometimes for the flugel as well, trumpets for the cornet part, and tubas for the euphoniums. Depending on the library, the results can range from monosonic drone to a mish-mash of sound that is hard to listen to without screaming out in pain.

I'm intrigued by discussion of the upcoming Big Band/Jazz library, and hoping that some of the instruments I'm missing will appear in that release. Is anyone here able to comment on the instruments we'll be seeing in that library -- in particular as to whether the ones I've mentioned above might be included?

Finally, one more (potentially unanswerable) question... Should I go ahead and buy GPO now and the add-on later, or would there be some (financial) advantage in waiting a bit and getting it all at once? I'm not cheap, just over-extended

Which brings me to the topic -- Br[nss][nss][nss]. I'm working on some arrangements for Br[nss][nss][nss] Band (in the British tradition), and have been hunting for good instrument sounds. The challenge is with the instruments that are common in the Br[nss][nss][nss] Band genre that aren't so common in Orchestral music -- Euphonium, Baritone and Tenor horns, Flugel, Cornet. Most of the workarounds I've seen done use french horns for the baritone and tenor, and sometimes for the flugel as well, trumpets for the cornet part, and tubas for the euphoniums. Depending on the library, the results can range from monosonic drone to a mish-mash of sound that is hard to listen to without screaming out in pain.

Dan--
Do you play in a band? If so which band, which instrument??
As a br[nss][nss][nss] bander & euphonium player myself, I feel your frustration. If you want to check some things out, look back in the threads for "euphonium." This matter has come up before. To hear me live, check out the "snorlax live" thread. More "snorlax live" to come as soon as I find the DATs.

Right now I am using the french horn for baris/euphs/tenors. While I have no specific knowledge or details on anything in the GPO pipeline, a look at the threads shows that GPO people try to listen to reasonable suggestions such as "How the *&^(*%^% could you have forgotten the world's greatest instrument, the KING of instruments, without which music would be a wretched pile of crap. You have all those fiddles and squeaky clarinets, what the )&^*&^%*& happened to the euphonium?" Or "How am I supposed to compose without an Ondes Martenot, Ophecleide, and Cimb[nss][nss][nss]o? You call this a library? I've seen beter libraries in a bathroom...I know you can't grant everyone's request, but an orchestra without an Ondes Martenot??? Geeeez!!"

Originally Posted by dancase

Finally, one more (potentially unanswerable) question... Should I go ahead and buy GPO now and the add-on later, or would there be some (financial) advantage in waiting a bit and getting it all at once? I'm not cheap, just over-extended

At the current price GPO is a steal--I am fairly new to libraries. After researching & listening, I found GPO to be the best combination of affordability and usability. For what I do, I'd have no use for 17 different trumpet attacks, violin bowings starting 4, 3, 2, and 1 inch from the frog, etc.

With GPO I am learning that I can control performance parameters--EVEN USING ONLY A NOTATION PROGRAM--to get a very good representation of what a piece sounds like. One of the reasons I had avoided investing in libraries was the fact that I worked exclusively in notation and dumped into a sequencer--I have ZERO keyboard skills. But just check out the "Also Sprach GPO" thread and listen to that demo using just a notation program and GPO!!
If I were in the market for a reasonably-priced library, that would seal my deal in a flash. End of shameless commercial--listen for yourself!!

Dan--
Do you play in a band? If so which band, which instrument??
As a br[nss][nss][nss] bander & euphonium player myself, I feel your frustration. If you want to check some things out, look back in the threads

Yes, Jim I do play in a br@ss band. I'm fairly new to the BB world -- I joined NSBB in January. I was originally recruited to play back row Cornet, but when the director found out I also play flugel he quickly talked me into taking the flugel book... NABBA was coming up and none of his flugel guys could break loose to go to the competition in Charleston this past April. Frankly, if I had realized what I was getting myself into I probably would have been scared out of my socks ... by the time I realized the role of the Flugel in a BB I was already committed. It was a good experience for me -- a challenge I really needed. I'm a 'comeback' player who dropped out of regular playing for 20+ years, and one of my biggest "issues" is confidence... meeting that challenge head-on, and the tremendous amount of encouragement I got from the other band members, caused me to grow more in the course of 4 months than I had in the entire year previous. It also gave me a GREAT excuse to buy that new flugel I was wanting (Conn V1)

With NABBA behind us, I've retreated back to 2nd Cornet, not because I really wanted to play Cornet but because our summer is loaded with concerts and the band really needed someone on the flugel book that was a little more proficient in sight-reading (my other weak spot), since in some cases we will only be able to practice a piece 2 or 3 times before playing it in concert. I'd rather be playing Flugel, but I also want the band to be at its best this summer -- an important time for us, as we're fairly new and in the "making a name" mode. I still play flugel on the competition pieces, and I'll be back there sooner or later. I'd MUCH rather be playing 2nd Cornet than not playing at all! I'm quite thoroughly hooked on Br@ss Banding.

I have some interesting and unconventional ideas for BB arrangements... the kind of things you don't think of when you think of br@ss bands. Kinda "outside the box," since they never got me inside that silly box in the first place!!